Trying to decide between a 30-year mortgage and a 15-year mortgage? Go with the 15-year mortgage to save money and be debt free. Q: I caught a portion of a response you made on your radio show about comparing a 30-year loan versus a 15-year loan. If I understood you correctly, the difference between these [...]
Are you refinancing with a lien on your property? If you also have title insurance issues, you need to resolve them before you can refinance. Q: Our home has a lien on it from the Georgia Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue gave us the go ahead to refinance our loan or get a [...]
The average length of time for a refinance can vary if they don't have the right documents needed for a mortgage refinance. Q: My husband and I started a refinance late last year with an Internet lender and we are still going through the process. Now, our mortgage broker wants a letter about my husband's [...]
I purchased my first home a year ago, but since then interest rates have dropped and my credit has improved. Can I refinance already? Yes, in theory you can, but you have to figure out if you should. It depends largely on whether you have a prepayment penalty built into your mortgage contract, what you [...]
Refinancing your home at a lower rate makes sense if you can keep your refinancing costs to a minimum. Q: We have a mortgage loan on a second home (it’s a vacation home) with our credit union. The APR is at 4.039 percent and the loan is just a little over a year old. We [...]
Foreclosure is scary. Before the bubble burst and the housing crisis hit, it was taboo to go through foreclosure. Now it’s almost common. And, unfortunately, despite the rosier outlook for the real estate market, too many homeowners are still facing foreclosure. The most important thing for any homeowner in this situation to know is that [...]
Mortgage interest rates are rising. But it's not too late to refinance your mortgage and hit a home run while you do it. While interest rates aren't quite at rock bottom, it's still a great time to refinance. If you have the ability to refinance, do it. Even if you have already refinanced, if you can [...]
Beware of paying subordination fees in a mortgage refinance. Refinance your mortgage twice and you might be paying subordination fees during the mortgage refinance. If you refinance your home mortgage with two lenders, you may be responsible for paying subordination fees. Paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance marks one lender as the primary mortgage lender and one as the secondary mortgage lender. Paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance allows the primary mortgage lender to grant your mortgage refinance. Make sure you understand paying subordination fees in mortgage refinance when refinancing your home mortgage a second time.
How does the death of your spouse affect your mortgage? When your spouse dies, if you are also listed on the mortgage, you are still the borrower and continue to own the home. Your spouse's death should not affect your mortgage if you are listed as a borrower or held title jointly. If you want to change the mortgage to be in your name only, you can refinance your mortgage. In the case of the death of your spouse, as long as you continue to make the mortgage payments, your mortgage should not be affected.
Many fees are involved in paying off a mortgage. To pay off a mortgage, a homeowner needs to contact his or her lender and request a payoff letter, for which lenders often charge a processing fee. In addition to this processing fee mortgage lenders also charge a fee to fax the payoff letter to you.
